Make Your Own Frozen Pizzas

If you are a normal person and you love pizza, then I have a feeling you are going to love love love this post. One night a few weeks when I was really dreading making dinner, David suggested that he go buy a frozen pizza.

There were two problems with that suggestion:

1. I rarely enjoy a store-bought frozen pizza (especially not the cheap ones which are usually all we can afford anyway).
2. Well... you know what happens when you send your husband on a quick grocery store run. One item turns into twenty. You get my drift.

So I bucked up and made whatever I had planned for that night. But it got me thinking, "Can I make a more delicious freezer-ready pizza than a high quality store-bought one?". I have learned that the answer is undoubtably yes! I am so excited to share this knowledge with you. It is going to save your wallet and your taste-buds from buying something less wonderful than you should.

A-hem. Well I suppose we should just get right down to business. That is why your visiting this blog, right? Here is what you will need:

• 2 (12-inch) disposable aluminum pizza pans
• 1 recipe fail-proof pizza dough 
• non-stick cooking spray
• yellow cornmeal
• 1 pizza stone*
• your favorite pizza toppings
• plastic wrap
• aluminum foil

First, prepare your pizza dough. It takes 1-2 hours to rise so plan ahead. When dough is ready, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees, placing the pizza stone in the oven before you even turn it on (the stone will heat up as the oven does). *Tip: If you do not have a pizza stone you can use an upside down cookie sheet instead.

Spray your pizza tins with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle with cornmeal. 

Divide your dough in half. On a floured surface roll each dough half out into a 12-inch circle. Transfer dough to prepared baking pans.

Now here is the most important step. Place the dough in the pan on your pizza stone and bake for 3-5 minutes, or until the dough just barely pulls away from the edge of the pan. Poke any bubbles with a knife. 

Want to know why this step is so dang important? It is going to ensure that the dough can no longer continue to rise while it freezes in your non-commercial freezer that technically cannot really "flash" freeze. Understand? Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

While the crust is cooling, prepare your toppings. Here are some topping tips and guidelines:

1. Some vegetables need to be blanched before they are frozen. To do this bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Clean and cut veggies. Drop into boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Remove immediately with a slotted spoon and put in a bowl filled ice water (this will stop the cooking process). After veggies have cooled remove from water and pat with paper towel to dry. Blanching vegetables ensures that they will keep their color in the freezer and will not be damaged by freezer burn. You do not need to blanch bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, or zucchini. Tip: For a quicker cook time, use store-bought frozen vegetables.
2. Meats must be fully cooked.
3. Not all cheeses are freezer friendly. For example delicate, crumbly cheese like bleu cheese or feta do not freeze well and can actually lose flavor while in the freezer. Stick to cheeses like mozzarella, cheddar, monterey jack, and colby jack.
4. You want all of your toppings to have cooled so that when you wrap the pizza for the freezer there is no steam trapped in the packaging. Steam will make freezer burn more likely.

For the first layer of toppings on our taco pizza, I spread some cold canned refried beans.

Next comes a mixture of cooked ground turkey and enchilada sauce (also cooled). Last time I made this taco pizza I also put taco seasoning in the ground turkey mixture, and it made the pizza taste way better. I forgot to add it this time. So do add taco seasoning if you are making this version of taco pizza. 

Lastly we topped the pizza with fat-free cheddar cheese, olives, and green onions.

Now all that is left to do is prep the pizza to go in the freezer. To prevent freezer burn you will need to double seal it, first with plastic wrap...

and then with aluminum foil.  

Dum-dah-da-dum!

This delicious little sucker can stay in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

When you are ready to finish cooking your pizza: Place pizza stone (or upside down cookie sheet) back in oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Unwrap frozen pizza, but leave in disposable aluminum pan. When oven is heated, cook pizza in pan on stone for 15-18 minutes or until the crust is a dark golden brown and the cheese is bubbly and hot. Remove from oven. Brush crust with melted butter.

The crust tastes better that DiGiorno, I can promise that much. Plus these are far more cost effective than buying frozen pizza. They are perfect for those nights when you are tempted to order pizza and they are sooooo convenient. Have I changed your life forever? Have I, have I? I hope so.

Another plus + Make a cute printable tag and tie this with some ribbon and you have an awesome meal for a new mom or a sick friend. If no one has brought them dinner already when you bring it to them it only takes a quarter of an hour to reheat from frozen. If they already have dinner that night just slip it in they're freezer. They'll be grateful.

Fail-Proof Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 3 cups bread flour (give or take half a cup depending on heat and humidity)

Cooking Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, preferably that of a stand mixer, stir yeast and sugar into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes. Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix.
2. Once that flour is incorporated, start adding in remaining flour bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn't stick to your hands.
3. Once you reach this stage, turn the mixer on high to knead for 6 minutes. Turn a timer on and walk away. Resist the temptation to stop earlier than 6 minutes!
4. Remove finished dough from mixer and shape into a ball. Lightly grease a bowl & the dough (so it doesn't dry out). Put dough in prepared bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours.

Recipe by Lauren's Latest

5 out of 5 stars

Taco Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 recipe fail-proof pizza dough
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• shredded cheddar cheese
• sliced green onions
• sliced black olives

Cooking Directions

1. Prepare pizza dough according to recipe directions. Split dough in half and roll into two twelve-inch pizzas.
2. Brown ground turkey with taco seasoning until fully cooked. Add enchilada sauce.
3. Spread half of the can of refried beans on each pizza. Top with half of the meat mixture.
4. Sprinkle with cheese, onions, and olives.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes if fresh and 15-18 minutes if frozen.

Recipe adapted from So Very Blessed

4 out of 5 stars w/o taco seasoning (add the taco seasoning!!!)

To read more about making a frozen pizza visit Home Made Simple.

Make Your Own Pre-Cooked Bacon

I usually buy the cheapest brand of thin cut bacon which is usually somewhere around $2.75 for a 12 ounce box.

Bacon is wonderful.

Bacon is delicious.

Bacon is my favorite greasy food.

I would buy bacon at any cost.

But not really, because when I went to the store this week to get a box of bacon all the cheap stuff was gone (apparently it had gone on sale). The next cheapest brand was $4.79ish for the same size of container. Re-freaking-diculous. I put it in my cart and ten minutes later I found myself back by the bacon returning my cherished prize. It turns out that my in-store buyers remorse had completely consumed me. There was absolutely no way I was leaving that store with a nearly-five-dollar expensive box of bacon.

I am cheap, what can I say.

Plus I take pride in my grocery budgeting skills.

Enough about that. So basically I am standing there in front of the bacon nearly in tears, muttering nasty things under my breath when all of a sudden I see a package of thick cut bacon for $2.39. When I say thick cut, I mean really thick cut, ok. Like look at these suckers (pictured below). I just really prefer thin cut bacon.

Now onto more delicious business. Did you know you can make your own pre-cooked bacon? It lasts in the fridge for one week and in the freezer for two months.

Just like normal pre-cooked bacon you can fry it up in a pan or you can cook it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. It's true. Very true.

All you have to do is cover a cookie sheet in aluminum foil. Put a cooling rack on the covered cookie sheet. Then line your bacon up all nice and wonderfully on the cooling rack.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes (thick cut) or 18-20 minutes (thin cut). But really though you should keep an eye on it after 15 minutes. Bacon burns in the blink of an eye when you cook it in the oven.

I speak from experience. Here is my thick cut bacon all coooked and crispy with a pool of bacon grease all happy and fatty underneath. 

After the bacon bakes, let it cool completely. I package mine in a freezer bag and use parchment paper for dividers between the ooober yummy layers of bacon.

Like I said, it will last for one week in the fridge and two months in the freezer. Enjoy!

Smokey Ham and Potato Soup

It is starting to get colder here in Idaho, but not too cold. Trust me, it will get too cold. But right now I am relishing in the evenings where it is cold enough to eat soup, but warm enough to eat dinner outside on our front porch with neighbors.

This soup, right here, is perfect for early fall evenings, and probably any other time of the year to be honest. Side note: hot soups should never be eaten during the summer time. Just a thought.

This soup is warm, it's cozy, not to mention that it is smokey and savory. It's absolutely worth making.

P.S. It is also very easy to make (a huge plus in my book).

Smokey Ham and Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 4 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced (about one cup)
• 10 baby carrots, sliced
• 4 cups homemade or storebought broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable broth will do)
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 pound fully-cooked smoke flavored ham, diced
• salt* and pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Combine potatoes, onions, carrots, and broth in crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, or until potatoes are very soft.
2. Once potatoes are soft, stick an immersion blender in your crock pot and blend the soup up until about half of it is pureed, but there are still plenty of veggie chunks. If you don't have an immersion blender you can remove half of the potato mixture into a stand blender and puree it there. Then add it back to your crock pot.
3. Add remaining ingredients to crock pot. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 30 more minutes or until heated through.
4. Serve with rolls and a large green salad.

*The amount of salt you use will largely depend on the salt content of your ham and your broth.

Recipe adapted by Amanda Jenks (originally from Weight Watchers Recipes)

Yield: 12 servings

Calories per serving: 132
Fat per serving: 2 grams

I promise that you are going to love curling up with a warm bowl of this soup in the coming fall and winter months. Enjoy!

Smokey Crock Pot Chili

I have played around with multiple chili recipes of my own throughout the past few years of my life. This is by far the best chili that I have ever made or eaten. I kid you not. It will be the best chili you ever eat too. It makes great leftovers and freezes well. The unique smokey flavor is what makes this chili amazing. It is great on baked potatoes, chili dogs, frito pies and/or any other recipe you'd use chili in. Plus the crock pot does most of the work for you, so I'd say this recipe is a winner. I urge you to make this chili. You will be pleasantly surprised and pleased with the outcome.

Smokey Crock Pot Chili

1/2 medium onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
3 slices bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 (15 oz) cans crushed tomatoes in puree
2 (10 oz) cans rotel tomatoes*
2 (15 oz) cans can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp chili powder**
2 tsp. cumin**
1 tsp. salt**
1/2 Tbsp. liquid smoke (or more if you'd like)***

Brown ground beef with onion, garlic, and bacon. Immediately transfer to crockpot, draining fat from meat as you scoop it into the crockpot (this is very important unless you want a lot of fat swimming on top of your chili). Add remaining ingredients and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Makes 8 (1 Cup) servings. Top individual servings with sour cream and cheese.

Recipe Source: A Taste Tester Original

Serve with a big garden salad.

EASY DINNER IDEAS FOR LEFTOVER CHILI

#1 Potato Bar
Wash one potato per person. Wrap in foil and place in large crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4. Reheat Chili and serve over crock-pot baked potatoes with your favorite toppings. (We like green onions, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese).

#2 Chili Dogs
Cook hotdogs and toast hot dog buns. Reheat chili. Serve chili over hot dogs in buns. Top with other favorite toppings (we like diced onion and cheddar cheese).

#3 Frito Pies
Cut miniature bags of Fritos open. Reheat extra chili. Spoon desired amount of chili into bags and top with favorite toppings (we like grated cheese, sour cream, green onions, pico de gallo, and shredded lettuce).

The Best Sunday Dinner

Confession. When I was typing the title of this blog I accidentally typed "The Best Sunday Sinner"... haha. I guess my finger slipped and hit the 's' instead of the 'd'. But hey, it is the best sunday dinner, even for sinners.
We had some people over for dinner on Sunday night. I had seen this recipe floating around on pinterest for a while now, and we had most of the ingredients on hand so I decided to give it a go. It was delicious.

3 Packet Pot Roast

1 (3 lb) roast
1 beef a jus seasoning packet
1 italian dressing seasoning packet
1 onion soup mix packet
5 medium potatoes, cut into thirds
1 lb baby carrots
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup water

Put all ingredients in a crock pot, and cook on low for 6-8 hours (depending on if your roast was thawed or frozen).

I made a simple gravy with the drippings from the crock pot and a slurry made with cornstarch and cold water.

Recipe Source: Several sources found on pinterest